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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Confirmation Class 2010 Notes

These are my notes for the Confirmation class I'm teaching this year. I've never done it before. After a lot of thinking, I decided to make it about a dozen weeks (actually worked out to lucky 13). I was told anything from 12 weeks to an entire year for the length by the Church, and quickly realized it was just up to me. I also took a look at the official PCUSA Confirmation curriculum, and I took some ideas from it but went my own way. If nothing else, it's more interesting for me to do it myself.

The notes may not necessarily make sense to anyone but me - they're my guidelines, and while I'm going to give a copy of this to the kids in the class, I don't expect it to immediately make sense to them.

Though the class will obviously be my view, and my understanding of what "the basics" are, I've also gotten 6 different mentor-volunteers to work with the kids and help with the class however they see fit. My goal is for the mentors to disagree with me periodically, or have their own spin or viewpoint or priorities, and for the kids to see that it is ok for a church to be composed of people who disagree sometimes.

Yes - I am encouraging them to be little liberals.

6 sessions on the Bible, 2 sessions on history, and then 3 sessions on faith and practice, followed by a wrap-up where the kids also decide if they're ready to go before the Session and then be Confirmed.

After which we're certainly far from done, but we have a place to start. At least, that's the plan.

2010 Confirmation ClassEvery SessionCandle PrayerLord’s PrayerSession 1 (9/19/10)Intro and getting started; how we’ll do it; question-writing; quizSession 2 (9/26/10)Bible: the First FiveSession 3 (10/3/10)Bible: Wisdom and WritingsSession 4 (10/10/10)Bible: ProphetsTen Commandments Day(10/17/10)Sunday Off! (Pastor Doug is out of town)Session 5 (10/24/10)Bible: the GospelsSession 6 (10/31/10)Bible: Letters and the Early ChurchSession 7 (11/7/10)BIble: Revelation and what came afterSession 8 (11/14/10)History: Jewish history“Hebiru” --> Holy Land --> David --> Exile --> Second Temple --> DiasporaSession 9 (11/21/10)History: Christian historyJesus --> Disciples --> Apostles --> Early Church --> Rome --> World --> Reformation --> UsHappy birthdaySession 10 (11/28/10)Faith and Practice: Sacraments, Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual PracticesSession 11 (12/5/10)Faith and Practice: the Christian Year and the Great Story CycleSession 12 (12/12/10)Faith and Practice: Confessions, TheologySession 13 (12/19/10)Choice: Ready to go before the Session? Talk through what you’ll have to affirmYouth Sunday!TBA: Go before the SessionDun-dun-DUUUUN!Confirmation ServiceTBAContinuing the Journey: Farther On and Deeper InConfirmation isn’t where we end, it’s where we start